James Blake breaks week one records with #1 on Independent Albums Chart and #3 on Official Albums Chart
James Blake’s new record ‘Trying Times’ has debuted at #3 on the Official Albums Chart with over 12,000 sales in its first week, cementing his strongest debut to date.
The achievement highlights a major milestone for Blake, marking his first independent release – which has also achieved #1 in the Independent Albums Chart. Blake has delivered his strongest opening numbers since his inaugural album ‘James Blake’, as well as securing the highest-charting release of his career. Additionally, the record has doubled week one sales of his fifth studio album ‘Friends That Break Your Heart’. The record also earned #1 on Physical Albums, Vinyl Albums, CD Albums, and Scottish Albums charts.
The album garnered instant critical acclaim by publications such as Evening Standard hailing the lyrics as “the best of Blake’s career” and Mixmag describing the record as “deep, introspective and disarmingly sincere”, as well as further glowing reviews from The Independent, Pitchfork, DIY, CLASH, The Guardian, among many more.
‘Trying Times’ marks Blake’s first release via Good Boy Records, who he met on indify (a music partnerships platform). Good Boy brought together Virgin Music Group (for distribution and global strategy) and Stellar Music (for digital marketing), with all partners – including Blake – jointly funding the album and sharing in its revenues, forming a modern, collaborative profit-sharing model.
A GRAMMY-winning producer, songwriter, and musician, Blake’s singular blend of soul, electronica, hip-hop, and alt-R&B has shaped the sound of modern music. Across six seminal studio albums, Blake’s catalogue has amassed over 2.2 billion streams: his 2019 album ‘Assume Form’, featuring ROSALÍA and Travis Scott, garnered widespread acclaim, followed by his highest chart debut to date with 2021’s ‘Friends That Break Your Heart’.
His transcendent vocals and visionary production have cemented him as one of contemporary music’s most influential figures, and a sought-after collaborator for Beyoncé, Frank Ocean, SZA, ROSALÍA, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott and more, contributing to era-defining albums like ‘Blonde’, ‘DAMN.’, ‘ASTROWORLD’, ‘Lemonade’, and ‘Motomami’.
Most recently, Blake collaborated with revered UK rapper Dave on his critically acclaimed album ‘The Boy Who Played The Harp’, and crafted ‘Séance’ alongside Ludwig Göransson, a standout from the soundtrack from Ryan Coogler’s ‘Sinners’.
James Blake Live Dates 2026
Wed 05/27/26 – Atlanta, GA – The Tabernacle
Fri 05/29/26 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Paramount
Sat 05/30/26 – New York, NY – Brooklyn Paramount
Sun 05/31/26 – Boston, MA – Roadrunner
Tue 06/02/26 – Washington, DC – The Anthem
Thu 06/04/26 – Philadelphia, PA – Franklin Music Hall
Sat 06/06/26 – Toronto, ON – HISTORY
Mon 06/08/26 – Chicago, IL – The Salt Shed
Tue 29/09/26 – London, UK – O2 Academy Brixton
Mon 05/10/26 – Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg
Thu 08/10/26 – Brussels, BE – Cirque Royal
Mon 12/10/26 – Paris, FR – Le Grand Rex
Thu 15/10/26 – Berlin, DE – Astra Kulturhaus
Sun 18/10/26 – Cologne, DE – E-Werk
Wed 21/10/26 – Glasgow, UK – SWG3 Galvanizers
Sun 25/10/26 – Manchester, UK – New Century
Wed 28/10/26 – Bristol, UK – O2 Academy Bristol
Thu 06/11/26 – Berkeley, CA – Greek Theatre
Fri 06/12/26 – Los Angeles, CA – The Greek Theatre
‘Trying Times’ Tracklist
1. Walk Out Music
2. Death Of Love
3. I Had A Dream She Took My Hand
4. Trying Times
5. Make Something Up
6. Didn’t Come To Argue (ft. Monica Martin)
7. Days Go By
8. Doesn’t Just Happen (ft. Dave)
9. Obsession
10. Rest Of Your Life
11. Through The High Wire
12. Feel It Again
13. Just A Little Higher
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